On the recordJuly 26, 2017
Two points are raised by my colleague--very good points. First, in the immediate, those people will go to the hospital emergency room, which means that, once again, we are turning back the clock toward approaches that don't provide better care at lower costs. I wish to also mention, when we are listening to folks at home-- because they don't get to testify here in the Senate--people appreciate the part of the Affordable Care Act that ensures their lifetime limits on what they can be charged by insurers. Almost all of these Republican bills create an arrangement where a State could waive that protection. Not only would people who are facing cancer and serious illnesses and probably have to go to the hospital emergency room a fair amount be hurt now, but people who have employer-based coverage are going to be hurt in the future. So 160 million people don't even know what is coming out.
